Preview
Ephlesia U.: The Courtship of Mint Vanguard~Ripples in the Weave~
Ruenis Gallagher blinked rusty-red eyes as he glanced at the sunrise through his window blinds. Claire should be awake already, fixing breakfast in the kitchen.
He pursed his lips, thinking. It has been three years since he moved to Carona with Claire and Rue, and a lot had happened since then. Three years in Carona High.
And now it was September again. Autumn was in the air. First day of school at Ephlesia University.
It was a day of beginnings.
So, of course, he was running late.
A quick shower, comb hair, toothbrush, fresh change of clothes. Past the door, a goodbye kiss to his adopted older sister who was sweeping the front yard, and a jump right over the gladiolas, he scooted to the MetroTram station as fast as his hoverboard could fly him there, tapping one foot in impatience as the train sped on to West Desert. He was now regretting not spending the night at his older brother's apartment.
He made it to the Ephlesia campus with just thirty seconds to spare. Right before bumping into a fellow freshman.
He helped her up. An arm extended in handshake. Brief chit-chat. A flirtatious wink before he bade her goodbye. Five minutes afterwards and he didn't even remember what he said to her, of if she had said anything to him. With brisk steps he walked on to his first class.
Under any other circumstances, he would have found the girl cute, but he had barely noticed her as he had other things occupying his mind. Which actually meant that he had another girl on his mind—a girl whose red eyes were even more unusual than his own. Use of the magick always manifested in the eyes, and the high-strung East Heaven princess always used more magick than was strictly necessary (or even allowed, for that matter).
Claire's already engaged to a man from her hometown whom she's only known for six months, while stepbro's still as clueless as ever about a girl he's known for six years. If he's not careful, I just might decide to take his precious princess away from him.
He laughed to himself at the simple absurdity of the thought. But, he couldn't deny that tiniest of whispers at the back of mind—that it wasn't a bad idea.